Increase Forage Production up to 400%!

Mob Grazing is the current hot topic among progressive grass farmers looking for the path to profitable ranching operations. Many of ranchers operating on the leading edge realize that the higher stock densities of the 1980’s and 90’s are evolving to ultra high stock density, as graziers discover the benefits of up to 500,000 pounds of cattle per acre!

The benefits? Missouri cattleman Greg Judy practices the ultra high stock density planned grazing—or mob grazing—taught to him by South African rancher and grazing guru Ian Mitchell-Innes. Judy was quoted by Kit Pharo in his Pharo Cattle Company May/June 07 newsletter (http://www.pharocattle.com/newsletters.htm), “The results have been mind boggling!

• We have already increased annual forage production by close to 400%!
• The grass roots are thicker, deeper and healthier.
• We have improved the diversity of our grasses and legumes, while eliminating most of our weed problems.
• The soil is coming alive with earthworms, microbial activity and dung beetles.
• Manure distribution is unbelievable.
• Since we catch and utilize every drop of rain, droughts are no longer a problem.”

But will it work here? While we don’t yet know of Texas ranchers using this ultra high stock density, we have heard that Montana ranchers, Bill Jones and now his son Zachary, graze their high arid land (13 inch annual rainfall) at about 11 acres per animal unit, more than double their old stocking rate, with half the labor and inputs and fantastic forage production—increases expected to climb to 350% as they increase the number of cattle even more.

Show me the money! More product with less inputs and less labor, with more rest creating more forage almost has to translate to more income.

Ian Mitchell-Innes is a Holistic Management Certified Educator with the presence and experience to teach all aspects of successful ranching and land management. HMI-Texas is taking full advantage of his trip to the states this fall with scheduled 2-day intensive classes in both biological monitoring and land planning, in addition to the 1-day mob grazing workshop.

HM Biological Monitoring Class

• October 25-26 (a weekend)
• at Running High Ranch in Montague County not far from Bowie, Texas. This is a lovely facility on about 6300 acres with a variety of land to experience.
• Biological monitoring is how holistic managers guide the land to perform in the desired ways in motion toward the goal. This includes an awareness of the general condition of the land as revealed by the four ecosystem processes and how the tools applied will affect them, an assessment of the soil surface and the life just below and above it, and if grazing livestock, an assessment of the animal performance and the effect of their actions on the land.
• Space is limited to the first 30 people to register.

• October 27-28
• at Running High Ranch in Montague County not far from Bowie, Texas
• Designing the infrastructure of your land to support the activities in your goal. To keep animals moving continually requires new thinking about the way fencing, water points, roads and handling facilities are laid out. A holistic land plan represents the marriage of a holistic goal and step-by-step practice, one step making the next step possible as the land plan is gradually implemented over time.
• Space is limited to the first 30 people to register.

• Wednesday, October 29, 2008
• Decatur Civic Center, Decatur, TX
• Register immediately to reserve your space.

• HM Biological Monitoring or HM Land Planning $450 ($800 couple)
• or both classes for $800 ($1,300 couple).
• Mob Grazing is $100.
• A couple is 2 people from the same operation.
• HMI-Texas members take 10% off all classes.
• Register online at http://www.hrm-texas.org/catalog. Or register with Jeanie Dreinhofer (jdreinhofer@hrm-texas.org or 325-348-3014).